1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods of materials handling. More particularly, the present invention relates to systems and methods of tracking items such as mail in transit.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a mail service, it is necessary to transport a large number of items. The transportation of those items requires the proper sorting of those item, based on, for example, their destination.
Typically, outgoing mail items are sorted at progressive higher levels of organization. For example, individual letters are generally sorted into a tray holding letters destined for a particular destination city (e.g., Boston). That tray, together with other trays, will be directed to carriers, sometimes referred to as rolling stock. Each carrier holds multiple trays and/or mail sacks and pouches destined for a particular geographic region (e.g., Los Angeles).
The rolling stock will then be utilized to transport multiple trays to a vehicle, to be transported to a mail sorting facility at the intended destination. Ultimately, within the intended destination geographic region, the sorting process will reverse itself. For example, individual mail trays, sacks, and pouches are disaggregated from the rolling stock and routed to their destination locations and individual letters are delivered to their intended recipient.
When shipping large quantities of mail items, it is desirable to accurately track shipments. In this regard, it is desirable to track trays as they are transported from an origin to a destination. It is further desirable to track the weight of shipped mail items and the use of rolling stock capacity, for purposes of being able to increasing the efficiency of the overall transporting process. Thus, a need exists for improved methods of tracking shipments.